Once coal companies discovered that there was coal under the soil, they began buying up all the property that they could. Tricking uneducated landowners with “Broad form Deed’s” that were full of big words and confusing terms was what worked best when buying land. Most of these deeds were responsible for stripping landowners of their mineral rights so that coal companies could mine the coal under their soil and sell it for profit (Caudill, 1963, p. 74). These deeds were also very sneaky. According to Strobo, (2012), “broad form deeds left only a nominal title to the surface and total responsibility for property taxes with the landowner.” This also meant that all damages done to the surface of the land were the landowners responsibility and not the coal companies. The harm that was done to their land also made landowners previous ways of life much more difficult. This drove many farmers into poverty because this region thrived off of the farming and cultivation of land (Caudill, 1963, p.113). As the farmers began loosing their main source of income they began working in mines to support their
Once coal companies discovered that there was coal under the soil, they began buying up all the property that they could. Tricking uneducated landowners with “Broad form Deed’s” that were full of big words and confusing terms was what worked best when buying land. Most of these deeds were responsible for stripping landowners of their mineral rights so that coal companies could mine the coal under their soil and sell it for profit (Caudill, 1963, p. 74). These deeds were also very sneaky. According to Strobo, (2012), “broad form deeds left only a nominal title to the surface and total responsibility for property taxes with the landowner.” This also meant that all damages done to the surface of the land were the landowners responsibility and not the coal companies. The harm that was done to their land also made landowners previous ways of life much more difficult. This drove many farmers into poverty because this region thrived off of the farming and cultivation of land (Caudill, 1963, p.113). As the farmers began loosing their main source of income they began working in mines to support their